The Crimson Tide
by The Vampyre's Widow
Summary: (COMPLETED) Co-Authored with Sayori.(YOAI) A Ancient vampyre is out to break Shido, by the will of his Sire. Can Shido survive or will he be broken? Part 1 of the Crimson Tears Series
1. Prolouge

Sayori's authors note: Before reading my interpretation of Cain and Shido, I must apologize to Nightwalker fans the world over for slaughtering the series. I know, I know, bad form, but I can't stand Riho or Yayoi, so they had to go. My apologies, sincerest of apologies, for any annoyance or displeasure this causes. Their removal was necessary for what I wanted. Cain had to stay because he's so pretty.. the blonde him from later in the series. Right, so with that said, I hope everyone enjoys the fic. ^^ Just try to think of Shido and Cain as not being in the series, and don't flame me for it. Shido's just so adorable; I couldn't help but take him.

Black Widow's Author Note: Just like Sayori said, don't flame us please for the story. I truthfully have not seen Nightwalkers as of yet and any mistakes I make are due to that. Cyric is © me, as is his Children. I use a different kind of Vampyre then is in Nightwalkers, so be prepared for differences.

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The Crimson Tide

Prologue

By Black Widow & Sayori

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My dear Cyric,

  
Once a few hundred years ago I happened to be in the same area as you. Your reputation proceeded you, quite clearly and in great detail I might add, and I chose to steer clear of your path. We walked within the same confines of a street once before I left that town, though we never spoke. In the multitude of gossip that has floated about your name, I happened upon what I am hoping is your correct address. I sent a messenger with this letter to assure its arrival.

You see, I have a terrible problem in Tokyo. One of my children, whom I thought would have been the most perfect, has separated himself from me. This was quite a while ago, and he's been amusing himself by destroying our kind one by one. He has done more damage than I thought possible, and needs to be stopped. I've tried to bring him back to me many times, but I fail to quell his desire for freedom. I have heard you might be able to accomplish such a feat.

  
If you are interested his name is Tatsuhiko Shido, and he will most likely be in a small office in the business section of downtown Tokyo. If my messenger does not return, I shan't be offended. I would not have sent it by human hands had I thought he might return unharmed.  


Cain  


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Cain,

  
I understand your dire predicament. Younglings are most dangerous when they get a will of thier own. They explore and learn of things that Younglings should know not about. I will help you in this for New Orleans is droll in the month of Lent. If I cannot turn this Youngling back to you or I, I will kill him.  


Cyric  



	2. Essence of Anger

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The Crimson Tide

Chapter 1 – Essence of Anger

By Black Widow & Sayori

There was no return letter. Cain was satisfied with Cyric's reply. As sad as it would be to lose the only child of his he wanted to keep near forever, if Shido could not learn his place it would be best to put the boy down permenantly. He was tired of pursuading his child, and only getting the stubborn side. It was time to send in someone who had the will to break his obstinate child. He couldn't do it. He, sadly, was too fond of this one.  


~~*~~

Across the world, in Tokyo, Japan, Shido, the violet-haired vampire and vampire hunter, stretched and prepared to go out. There had been mysterious deaths near one of the Space needles, and he had the feeling it was one of his kind. The corpses had been drained of blood.

  
He shrugged into his long coat and adjusted it as he reviewed his facts mentally. There was no blood left in the bodies, there was always a missing body part, the bodies were badly mauled, and the eyes gouged out. It sounded like a perverse serial killer, but the mauling and the blood-less bodies had him thinking it was a vampire. A new breed would make that mistake. Young and unguided; the creature would be careless and messy. He had avoided such growing pains, thankfully.

  
He exited his office; his fairy staying put for tonight. Something told him not to bring her, but rather to leave her to watch things at the office. She wasn't much of a guard dog, being as small as she was, but she could do some damage. Wreak havoc if it came down to it. The street was barely disturbed by his addition to the slow moving, sparse traffic. There were more cars than people walking, for once. Confident and relaxed still from his slumber, Shido hummed lightly to himself. No one took notice of him, and he avoided notice of any human. He had things to do before he fed, as always. Feeding never made it to the top of his priority list.

  
One man jostled him, could have been a accident or not, but something else happened. Like a hole in his mind, something sucked it through, the surroundings changing, becoming the harsh, wind-swept desert of Egypt. As if looking through the eyes of another at a bleary TV, a man, almost naked except for the loincloth, stumbled across the hot sand. He fell once, and got back to his feet. As fast as it came, it went nothing more then that tiny vision.   
  
Halting abruptly, Shido gulped air as tried to clear his head. Neither the air nor the effort made much of a difference. What had he just seen? He recognized nothing but sand. Where had that been? When had that been? He asked himself this only because it appeared to be a very different time than the present.

  
Casting his cerulean eyes in every direction, the young vampire hesitantly continued on his way. His "vision", as he thought of it, had spooked him. He no longer hummed, and he had lost the graceful appearance of confidence.

  
The ancient vampyre watched the Youngling from the rooftops, keeping up easily, even when he had to jump over streets. A beautiful boy, he could see why Cain would want him to persuade him back. Truthfully, what was he to get out of it? The satisfaction of a job well done? He didn't want that. He wanted something much more substantial. In fact...he would give Cain his Youngling then take him back as payment...yes that would work...

  
Shido kept his pace to a steady walk, weaving through the people that occasionally disturbed his path and avoiding the streetwalkers. Human beings at there lowest were either prostitutes or druggies, he had always thought. It was terrible what they did to themselves sometimes. They each had such potential, and many squandered it.

  
Ahead of him, only a few streets from his destination, a woman collided with a running teenager. The teen never looked back, not even when the woman dropped her grocery bags and cried out. Immediately Shido hurried to help, pity in his expression. He was friendly to her, kept up a decent-enough conversation, and finally wished her well when she departed with her things. Not considering his act anything out of the ordinary, he dismissed it in its entirity and continued onward, smiling. She had been very nice, a little startled and nervous from the bump she had received, but very nice. It looked as though she had a young family. There had been diapers among her things.

  
Ahead of him one of Tokyo's infamous Space Needles glowed fetchingly in the darkness. His destination for the evening.

  
Cyric stopped, eyes watching the young vampyre and then the woman. Hmm, easy prey...he was getting hungry, the small child from earlier had only taken the edge off his hunger. Swooping down like a bat out of darkness, he quickly subdued the woman and dragged her into a side alley. Her blood was sweet, it bore the tinge of a lifebearer, as all women did after pregnancy, and it made it sweeter.

  
Oblivious, unfortunately for the woman, the violet-haired vampire continued determinedly until he reached the door. It was locked not only from the inside but with a chain and padlock as well. He almost laughed. Locks were one of the most useless things these days, with all the technology that was out to melt or break them.Grabbing the slender metal handle on the side door, he jerked it open, hinges popping sweetly like corks. The door was only attached to the building by the lock and chain. Perhaps those things weren't so useless after all. Without looking back or around, he took the plunge into the inky pit before him.

  
The body of the women dropped from his hands, shuddering with quiet sobs. He hadn't killed her, only taking some of her blood. He had plans for her and the violet-haired vampyre. Smiling down sweetly at the dark-haired women, he wiped the blood from his mouth, sucking it off his fingers. "Mmm ...sweet..." The albino bent down and picked her up. "He won't be able to resist." Bunching his legs he leapt to the rooftops, reaching the Space Needle within seconds and entering.

  
Hands and back against the wall, he climbed the stairs sideways, turquoise eyes forward and searching in the darkness. As his vampiric sense settled into dominance, the blue shifted into gold slowly. His sharp hearing picked up the shuffle of clumsy feet ahead of him, one foot continuously sliding across the ground. The breed was lame, obviously, or deformed enough to be unable to lift a foot enough to clear the ground. Sensing the darkness in the creature ahead as he closed in on it, he settled a hand on the top of his dagger's hilt. He would wait to bring it out until he had the breed in his sight. Suddenly the stairs leveled out. He had reached the top floor of the tower, commonly called the viewing room. There were windows for walls and railings to keep spectators back for the edge. Near the middle of the room his query dragged an unconscious carcass. Shido was overwhelmed by the scent of blood, both hungry and disgusted at the same time. He hadn't been quick enough, someone else had been hurt. But he would finish that tonight. Growling loudly, he waited for the creature to notice him. It did immediately at his utterance, and whirled to face him. The body was dropped unceremoniously to the ground.

  
Cyric climbed the stairs behind the Youngling, keeping a good 10 feet behind him. He was surprised that he hadn't heard him, or smelled the rich blood of the woman, but that was because the air here was infused with the scent of blood. He watched from the shadows, red eyes the only visible part of him now. How good was this Youngling?

  
Shido and the other vampire eyed each other for a moment. It was all Shido needed to pick out a few weak spots. The younger creature's ankle was permanently twisted, perhaps even broken, keeping him off balance and stumbling. One of the youngster's eyes was missing, a fight with his sire before he became a vampire possibly. The younger one was snarling and slavering. He had to have gone mad, almost rabid. The creature snarled louder under Shido's inspection, and charged the vampire hastily. Shido was surprised at the haste, but ready. The thing was nearly upon him before he moved. From under his jacket his hand raked out, dagger catching the light and fracturing the beams in a thousand directions, while he grabbed the charging breed's throat. Both of the breed's hands landed on his shoulders, squeezing mercilessly. The pair ended up flipping over backwards. Shido hit the ground first, consequently the hardest, but enough momentum was left to force him back over and bring the younger one to the ground. Straddling the fighting creature's waist, he plunged the blade back down, angling it to sever the head. The breed's hands closed around his throat and squeezed tight before he succeeded in removing head from body. While the arms dropped down limp, he gulped air, hissing slightly from the effort.

  
That had been too close.  


Slow...but not too bad. He chuckled as he stepped out of the shadows, being slow would get the Youngling killed, being slow spelled death for a Vampyre. Kill or be killed, the rule of survival. "Don't humans have a rule against picking on those weaker then you?"   


Jumping away from the body and backing up slightly, Shido, immediately recognizing his own kind, switched the bloody knife to his other hand. He was fully prepared to leap at this new arrival. Two in one night was a good accomplishment. As he licked his lips, ready to make a move, he smelled something far more important than blood, vampire or human- Age. And a lot of it. Caught between the vampire and glass windows, he realized not only had he left himself open, but he had no way out now. He couldn't win against this one. It would be like fighting Cain. At the thought of his master annoyance flashed through him, but at himself. There was the slightest twinge of affection still connected to the name, and he hated himself for it.

  
Reading the others face like one read a book, he only smiled patronizingly. "I thought you might be hungry after such a terrible fight." He extended his arms, offering him the half-dead woman. "I saved you some, she's quite sweet."  
  
"Wha-?!" Shido recognized the woman the second he laid eyes on her. Had he been followed? He hadn't noticed.. It was his fault the woman was dying! Had he not gone near her, not helped her, maybe she would have gotten through the night.

  
A tortured look contorted his pretty face as he dropped his eyes away from her. He had cost her her life. An innocent. His eyes faded back to the potent tropical blues they were normally. He wanted nothing to do with her or her blood. The gnawing urge eating him from within spoke differently, but he couldn't bring himself to even look at her. And then of course there was this.. thing.. in front of him, holding her out. Where had he come from? Who was he? Why was he here .. and with food?

  
"Aren't you a rude little thing, Ragazzo?" Cyric took a few steps forward, almost shoving it in his face. "It's rude to refuse such a generous gift."

  
"Ragazzo?" Confused, he looked at him only to see the woman so very close. He scuttled back a few more steps, shaking his head furiously. "I don't want her." He still couldn't believe he, whoever he was, had brought her to begin with.   


The woman was laid down before him, her gasping breaths coming slower and slower with each heartbeat. "Then she dies painfully." The albino took a few steps backward.  


He covered his mouth and nose with a hand, the dagger still in the other dripping blood occasionally to the tile floor. Eyes wide, he stared from her to him, stunned. This couldn't be happening! He could hear her heartbeat slow gradually, and he bit the soft flesh between his thumb and index finger in hope of riding it out silently and motionlessly. It didn't work. Her breathing rang in his ears, and the smell was going to drive him up the walls. Dropping suddenly to his knees beside her he took her head, whispered and apology, and snapped her neck hard to one side. The vertebrates broke cleanly, and her breathing stopped. He sighed with both relief and guilt. Essentially he had killed her, and remorse was a pit hollowing his stomach.  


Cyric smiled, though it was tainted slightly with insanity. "You killed her...and you considered yourself human..." His tone carried amusement and malice. "How inconsiderate of you."   


Shido's hand shook as he pulled them away from her and stood. He had dropped the dagger somewhere near her, but had not the stomach to retrieve it. The older vampire's words bothered him, but he was near to exit. Not wuite a clear shot, but the tempting view distracted him nonetheless.  


"You're insane," Shido growled, looking back. There was something-odd wrong about him. He was acting as though he knew Shido, and Shido was positive he would have remembered him. It was hard to forget something that looked like that. The lack of pigment would have startled him into remembering.  


That caused the Ancient to laugh, red eyes sparkling in plain amusement. "I know I am...to some extent lovely."   


"Lovely?! Who do you think you are, addressing me this way?" Shido growled, obviously forgetting to respect his elders.  


"Rude rude, where are your manners? Don't you know how to address your Elders?" Just as those red eyes showed amusement, they quickly turned murderous. "I am Cyric." The vampyre answered.  


Shido was half tempted to retort that this didn't make him god, but he kept his mouth shut on that comment. "Cyric.... fine. Lovely name. Now if you'll excuse me," he turned towards the exit and made to leave. He didn't like standing near dead bodies for extended periods of time. People came to think of you as a murderers that way.  


"You already are a murderer, lovely. You've spilled vampyre and human blood, yet believe to be pure...how...naive..."  


Looking back, Shido stopped. "How did you.." He never finished his thought, he didn't have to. He may suppress every vampire sense he had that went beyond what he already posessed, but others obviously didn't. Cain had had the oddest abilities. He always assured Shido that he would end up with them to.  


"I am not naive," Shido hissed, bristling. He didn't like being called young or naive apparently.  


Cyric turned to the body, caressing her face with false tenderness. He picked her up and threw her out the window in a cacophony of shattered glass in a deliberate display. "You are naive. One who spills blood is not pure. And you are a murderer."  


Stunnned, Shido gaped at the display, his eyes following the body and the glass. "Oh god, please don't hit anybody below," he whispered to himself, dreading the possibility. He didn't even reply to the murdered comment, too distracted by what had just happened.  


Cyric smiled at the others discomfort, walking to the entrance. "It did...a small child..." With that he was gone, a lazy chuckle drifting on the air.  


In utter distress, he raced to the edge to look out, noting the mess. Angry at not only the senseless waste but the innocent lives taken, he rushed towards the exit. He obviously wasn't thinking clearly, planning on striking someone so much older than he, and weaponless to boot. Not the brightest move he had ever made.  


The Elder was gone from the building, his scent fading from the air quickly. The only thing left behind was the chaos in the streets.  


Shido kept away from the confusion on the street, taking off in the opposite direction. This was madness. One simple job had turned into a nightmare and cost the lives of two innocent bystanders. And it was all his fault..  



	3. Trapped in a Web

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The Crimson Tides

Chapter 2 – Trapped in a Web

By Black Widow & Sayori

  
A newspaper fluttered in the wind, headline bolding declaring the mysterious deaths of two people, one a mother of three, the other a small child. A foot crushed the paper, the owner smiling in contempt before turning his face to the sky. Swollen clouds of gray-yellow were rolling in from the ocean, thick with rain. There would be a storm tonight, a very bad storm. Perfect hunting time.

  
Sitting in a cafe that stayed open 24 hours a day, a young man in a tan trench coat folded the day's newspaper in disgust, lying his full coffee cup on top to keep the pages from blowing away. It was about to rain, and the wind was picking up slowly. He had chosen to sit out-of-doors, but might regret the decision shortly.  


"Idiot, idiot, idiot," he repeated to himself over and over again, mentally reviewing every mistake he had made the previous night. He shuddered at the memory of the elder vampire, his red eyes and bleached skin. He had never met one of his kind with red eyes. Always with gold.  


Cyric swept through the sidewalks of Tokyo, smiling at the disgruntled looks of the people. They had no idea who he was, nor how dangerous he was, and he wanted to keep it that way. Now, how would he disturb his Youngling tonight? He seemed quite opposed to the innocents being harmed; there was his key. Hurt those who had nothing to do with them. And he had a plan...  


He couldn't resist the paper before him. Shido moved his cup and unfolded it, eyeing the front page briefly. He had already read that section four times, making himself feel a little worse each time. Instead of grinding the glass further into his skin, he flipped the paper open and read the first article he saw. It was a bland story about a company taking over another one, but he always liked to read every section of the newspapers. Idly he stirred his untouched drink with one finger, his other hand cupping his face to support it as he read. He made quite the comical little picture. Passerby's smiled at him, the aged mostly in amusement.

Turning the page, Shido sighed, suddenly bored. The paper wasn't appealing for once. The news was all the same, except for the murder on the front cover. He left the paper with its front page facing downward, avoiding the news in his own way. He knew the story anyway. He relaxed into the back of his chair for a moment, but found he couldn't rest at all. A restless, nagging feeling had creeped into him. Leaving a substantial tip with his miniscule bill, he left the outdoor cafe hastily. He just needed to walk, he told himself. 

Get some air. It wasn't hunger that gnawed within him, but rather something, anything, else. In his state of contemplation, he barely noticed the rain.

  
The streets around him emptied quickly, people wanting out of the downpour as soon as possible. But like the streets, the hole of darkness swallowed his mind, depositing him in the hot sands once more.   


The man from earlier was half-buried in the sand, eyes closed and hair swept about by the wild winds. His skin was red, burned and cracked from the exposure of the deadly rays. There was no sign that he was alive except the rhythmic fall and rise of his chest. Time passed, the sun setting on the horizon, while the Lady Moon rose to the peak. A figure appeared not a few feet away, wreathed in a tattered dark brown cloak, white hair trailing on the ground. It scooped the mans body from the sand, murmuring soft words of comfort to him before turning on it's heel and walking away.   


That vision faded away to a murky warehouse, rain pounding on the tin roof. Crates filled the first floor, stamped in large red letters the address of the warehouse. Downtown Tokyo, dock district.  


Stunned into a cease of motion like last time, he looked all around himself through the rain. Everyone had scuttled out of the dark, rainy night, but him of course. Anyone would have called his decision stupid, reckless, but Shido's curiosity was one of his downfalls. He knew the areas on the box he had seen, and headed into that direction. Perhaps he could finish what the night before had started...

  
Cyric waited in silence, listening to the sounds of the captives behind him. He knew the Youngling was coming, the telepathic bond he had constructed informed him of the violet-haired mans every move. It truly did sicken him to see how naive and stupid he was to coming running to what only could be a trap.  


Shido didn't waste any time getting to the docks. For some reason he thought of captives, though nothing would have hinted at that. That white haired vampire was probably there, waiting, with the captives. The thought just seemed to make perfect sense to him. He had no proof, but it just did.  


The door was unlocked, and Shido cringed. This was going to be bad, he had that feeling.  


Melting into the shadows, he waited. The three young men waiting for their rescuer was the perfect trap. Being as he was though, he had picked only the best for this trap. One was flawlessly Asian, tilted eyes, a round face and olive skin, the second Australian with brown hair, a angular face and full lips, the third was African with the darkest skin, lithe body and long white hair. Only the best for the best he mused, and they weren't for Shido.  
  
He saw the young men first, and stared. Three? What kind of appetite did this guy have? And where had he found them, just wandering the streets?  


Shido stepped toward them, senses pricked, eyes gold. He didn't feel the other one, and something about that wasn't right. HE should be able to feel him, smell him, something.  


A slow smile curled the lips of the Elder. Oh, how cute...and naive. He found himself repeating that a lot about Shido. Young, stupid and naive. A very bad combination.  
The three boys stared at the vampyre, eyes wide with fright. The brunette hid behind the taller African, whom bared his teeth around his gag. The Asian one stared beyond Shido, as if lost in thought.  


He looked over his shoulder once, twice. What was that guy staring at? The other vampire?  


He turned to face the darkness, his back to the boys. Why couldn't he sense the other one? He could always sense others... especially Cain. Why not this red-eyed demon of a vampire?  


The doors of the warehouse slammed shut, two gold-eyed vampyres moving to stand in front of it. Two more moved to stand by Shido's side, the last crouched atop a pile of empty crates, and gold eyes tinged red.   


Cyric revealed himself along with his children, stroking the hair of the African. "Hello again, Shido."  


"Oh no..." he whispered, eyes darting from vampire to vampire, then finally to Cyric. He was caught between a snarl and a whimper. He chose the obstinate road, as always. 

"What are you doing? What's the meaning of this?" He glared at Cyric angrily, annoyed at both the other vampire and himself. He shouldn't have been so stupid, but what was done was done.  


"It was a trap, of course." The bleached hand moved down to stroke the black cheek of the teen, a striking comparison. Black and white, life and death. "Of course, now that you're here...these three have outlived their usefulness." The five vampyres shifted restlessly, though they uttered not a sound. "Oh yes...I would like you to meet my children, Ahbram, George, Kyle, David and Mariko."  


At the statement which no doubt ensured the death of the three innocent teenagers, Shido bared his teeth and snarled. How dare he! Who did he think he was? God?! Hardly. The five names perturbed him. This was bold, to show them off in such a way. He must have a great deal of confidence and pride in them.  


The anger in his expression faltered as he remembered Cain had once been very propped of him and his progress. Recollections were not appropriate then, so he attempted to shove them to the back of his mind. The damage was already done, despite his efforts. Memories plagued him quietly. The one he saw the most was the one that was most vivid. Cain had been teaching his to use mind control on others, and he had done well. His reward had been sweet, as always. A blush marred his light complexion, and he wished to be gone from this place with a fervor he hadn't thought possible. This was all a very bad mistake. His stupidity was becoming painfully obvious. Had he not been so reckless.. perhaps.  


Cyric laughed, the tone rising from the sweet melodic tones of silver bell to the deep somberness of hollow wood. "Oh I will not kill them! That is a waste of perfectly beautiful flesh. I will merely turn them, lovely." Turning his back on the other vampyre, his gaze alighted on the terrified teens. "Look upon this Youngling, my sweets, for he is the reason you shall live accursed lives." Sinking to his knees before the Asian, he tilted his head to the side, baring his fangs.   


"No!" Shido darted forward, not thinking at all. Idiot child, he could hear echo for a split second in the back of his mind, but he paid it no thought. He had to stop him.  


All five vampyres snapped into motion, immediately, moving by unheard commands. The two behind him leapt at him, hoping to bare him to the ground as the other two slashed at him with katana's. The last landed in front of Cyric, crouched down in a defensive position. This one was the only female in the warehouse.  


She would have been beautiful, with long hair the color of black ink, skin swallow with sickness and slender in the body, if it had not been for the dual scars running from her forehead to under her clothes, ending at her ankles. She was old, the red-tinged eyes and hissing lending to that fact. She was insane, controlled but insane.  


Not pausing once, Cyric drained the Asian boy of blood, ignoring the other two for the time being. Biting the inside of his mouth to start the flow of his own blood, he kissed the teen, coaxing him to swallow it.  


Shido, effectively pinned to the ground, could only watch in honor. Not even that. He closed his eyes and buried his face into his shoulder. This was torture, truly.  


Leaving the writhing Asian, he knelt next by the Australian, hauling him forcibly from behind the white-haired African. He planted a sweet kiss on his lips before turning him as well.  


One of the katana-wielding vampyres grabbed a handful of violet hair, pulling his head up. "You'll watch what you've caused, you barbarian."   


Hissing, Shido writhed in the grip of the two on top of him. "I had nothing to do with this. It's your monster of a master who's turning them!" He thrashed as best he could. He wasn't turning them, he didn't chose them, and he didn't cause this! He wasn't at fault for this tyrannical and insane behavior.  


A steel-toed boot landed in the Younglings gut in a hard kick.   


"Be silent, bastard." The female vampyre hissed. "You came here, and you have sentenced them to this fate by appearing here."  
  
Cyric turned red eyes on Shido for a brief moment, blood trailing down his chin and neck, a mixture of his own and the boys. Last was the African. Cyric handled him gently, easing him into his new body slowly, so that when he was turned, it was with minimum pain and trouble.  


Disgusted and in pain, he growled ceaselessly. "You're all monsters. Emotionless, moral-less, bastards of demons." They were nothing more than monsters to him, parasites that fed off of human blood and happiness. Not better than fleas or ticks on dogs. He struggled again, unwilling to watch this merciless, execution-style mass turning.   


"Then what are you?" The red-tinged eyes of the female peered down at Shido. "You were a emotionless, moral-less bastard of a demon as well. You're just a sniveling pile of shit, pretending to be human."  


Shido snarled, but said nothing. He had heard that refutation many times before, and wasn't surprised to hear it again. The difference between them was as basic as the purpose for existence. He fought to stop them. They brought death to innocent human beings without discretion. Having not fed for awhile kept him weaker than he would have liked, and he found himself unable to toss off the two who held him. Panting from exertion, he quit and stayed still, trying to regain some of the energy his struggle had cost him, perhaps.  


Finished with the three, the Elder vampyre stood and wiped the blood off his chin and throat, marring his white hands. "How pitiful, lovely." He flowed to stand in front of the captured Youngling, smiling down at him. "Exhausted are we?" He moved to his knees, bloody fingers resting on the Youngers' lips.  


Shido jerked his face away sharply, snarling. He would bite that hand. The other one had to know that. No one touched him anymore. No one unless he let them. Though now did not seem like the time to try to assure himself of that.  


Only a smile graced the bloody lips. Oh, he knew Shido would bite him but if he did he would learn quickly not to. He bit back, and harder too. Catching his chin in one strong hand, he forced his fingers into his mouth, like he would with one of his Yearlings who still clung to humanity. "Drink, my sweetling."  


Startled and furious, Shido tried to shake his head, but could not get out of the tight grasp. Tossing his head didn't work either. An angry combination of a mewl and a hiss slipped out of him as he struggled minutely. He couldn't move very much, making struggling impossible. His mind screamed at him to do something, anything, but what he had no idea.  


The blood on his tongue hummed sweetly, and nearly whimpered at the immediate addiction. He could taste the darkness in it, and was furious when he knew his body wanted more, yearned for it as though he had just been made over again.  


"Take it, Shido." He ordered, for the first time using his name. "An exhausted vampyre does not make a good fight."  


Still panting from his earlier struggles, he stilled and for the first time looked at Cyric with something other than hatred. His motions stilled and his throat muscles worked to bring the liquid down. He imagined he could feel it constrict and wear away at what Cain had left of his human heart. The thought saddened him immeasurably, but his body wasn't listening to him any longer. The gold in his eyes strengthened slowly, and the dullness that had creeped into his hair from deprivation left. He was radiant again, the picture of what had attracted Cain to him in the first place.  


"Now that's a good boy..." Cyric all but purred, withdrawing his fingers when the blood was gone. He had to say that Cain had good taste in his Children. Shido was beautiful, and something he wanted alone. Before he had wanted to keep the Youngling to spite his Sire but that had changed, he wanted him. Him, Shido Tatsuhiko, his mind, his body and what was left of his soul.  


Shido panted still, but no longer from his previous efforts. He was flushed- most likely an after effect of the blood he would insist. Not daring to try those five children again, he remained motionless beneath the two. He didn't want to get kicked again, or prodded by weapons. Tonight had been too much of a night for him. He couldn't even think about it, or its repercussions. The yearning he had been surpressing for weeks was stronger than ever. He was completely distracted by it now.  


Nodding to one of his children, he turned and checked on the Yearlings, happy to find them awake and hungry. Mariko took them out to hunt, explaining to them the ways of the Vampyre. Cyric motioned to the two holding down Shido and they melted away into the darkness. The katana-wielder left as well, following the other two on their way out. The last pulled a unconscious body out of a crate, laying it on the ground before the violet-haired vampyre.  


"I offered you blood last night and you refused. I offer it again tonight, if you refuse, more will die." Backing away, he turned into the shadows, followed by his child.  


"But… but........ goaddamnit." Looking from the darkness to the body, he sighed. A no-win situation. Maybe if he just took it with him.. no he'd want it later, and he knew he would. He wanted it now, after all. That wouldn't change in a few hours. One life, several lives.. one life, several lives... give in, fight some more and probably lose... His head hung down in both shame and submission. He wouldn't risk more people for one life.  


"At least he is unconscious," Shido muttered, watching him. He never moved but to breath.  


Sighing and mustering himself to move, Shido approached the body, kneeling beside it. The smell rising from it was all but delightful. Hesitant, and admittedly awkward, he studied the thing before rolling it to get a better angle. It had been a while for him.  


The warm velvet of the winged chair encompassed his body, offering comfort. It helped him relax, as did the warm body in his lap. The African, named Azizir, had feed well that night. The life of a vampyre would suit him, as it suited Cyric. He would join the others back home in Cairo soon enough.  



	4. Blood Festival and Waves

****

The Crimson Tide

Chapter 3 – Blood Festival and Waves

By Black Widow and Sayori

The news was focused on another mysterious murder the night before. Shido didn't even bother to pick up a newspaper that night. He didn't want to see it. He was ashamed to look at the faces of the people he had said he would protect, especially when he glowed with the health and warmth of a fresh feeding. It was like telling a cow you'd keep it safe then butchering its cousin for ribs.  


Guni had noticed when he had returned the previous night, and congratulated him on finding his backbone. He had shut her up in the closet for a few hours after that annoyed and not willing to listen to her mouth off. Normally he would never have done such a thing, but blood always took off his pleasant edge, made him more forceful, less humane. He had let her out, and she had avoided aggravating him since.  


He would be spending the evening in his office, locked away from everyone. It would do no good to be out-of-doors where the risk of running into Cyric or his children, all eight of them here, was high. Scowling at his decision for self-containment, Shido played chess against himself before his fireplace. The fire crackled nicely in the darkness. Its soft glow giving him all the light he needed. Guni slept on top of his desk, her green batwings curled protectively about herself.  


A soft purr pierced the silence, winding around the noise of the fire. "Move your Queen here, she will be in control of the board."  


Shido froze looking around quickly. As if he didn't know whom it was... "She'll be prone to an attack by the bishop, left bishop, if I do that."  


"Then attack him at the same time." There was a chuckle. "Only in games do you follow the rules."   


"This is just a game. How did you get here...?" He wanted to know how the other vampire knew where he was, but it was a useless question. He looked over at Guni, but she slumbered on, thankfully. He'd hate to hear what she'd have to say. It would get them both in a lot of trouble.  


"Here...I am nowhere near you..." A tendril of curiosity brushed across his mind. "Have you forgotten the talents of a vampyre so quickly, lovely?"  


His eyebrow twitched. "I've suppressed them, Cyric. I do not know them anymore. They are foreign to me." He moved his queen, preparing her for a path of destruction through the board. The rook was the only thing able to get near her, but a pawn was in the way. The bishop he had removed but a move ago with the very same pawn.  


Exercising his mental powers, he disguised the pieces with illusions of real people. The white queen became Shido himself; the black queen was Cyric. Shido's white army became the mortals he wanted to protect, and the black army became Cyric's vampyres. "What will you do now, ragazzo?"  


"Why do you keep calling me that...?" Shido muttered, eyeing the pieces. This wasn't playing by the rules.  


"Because I can, koi." Came the purred answer. In Shido's eyes only, the female vampyre moved, taking out one of the mortals.  


Shido moved a mortal out of the way, to behind him. It was a cliche move, but one he would stand behind. "What does it mean?"  


"It's a masculine Italian endearment, my darling." Cyric moved across the board, standing behind another mortal pawn though not destroying it.  


The mortal was shoved none too ceremoniously out of the way. Shido was behind that one, only a black space from Cyric now. "You don't seem to be Italian."  


"A brave move, my love." The rest of the black army moved at once, breaking every chess rule alive, bringing down the other army as blood filled the chessboard. "I'm not Italian, but I spent two centuries there."  


Shido cringed, shutting his bright eyes and turning his head away to the fire. He watched the orange flames leap in their grate, and sighed. " Where do you come from, if not from Italy or Japan? I would have seen you in Transylvannia, or at least heard of you from Cain." Cain, ever the dramatic one, resided in Transylvannia and had since Shido could remember.  


The Cyric decapitated the Shido piece and every thing returned to normal on the board. "Are you so curious? Think about it, Youngling. Your stupid and naive but not dumb."  


Cupping his chin in his hand, Shido stared harder at the flames, thinking. What did that mean? How could he know where the other was from? "I don't understand," the violet-haired youngster admitted, gritting his teeth against the scathing remark against his intelligence he knew was coming.  


"Think about it, ragazzo. You'll burn for joy when you figure it out."  


"Burn?" An odd choice of words... His eyes were facing the fire, reflecting the light, but they weren't focused anymore. He was casting about in his memory for anything that was related to burning. A sliver of the vision form earlier, the hot sun and baking skin flashed across his vision. He started from his chair. "You're ... the sun. A desert? Where were you from, Egypt? The Middle East?"   


There was no response; the presence was gone with only the lightest caress, reminiscent of a lover's kiss.  


Raising one eyebrow as he lost the touch, he regarded his normal chess pieces. Somehow the game didn't seem quite as fun right then. Guni stirred on the desk, rubbing her eyes and yawning widely.  


"Shido?" She piped up, her little voice carrying to him easily.  


He was tempted to go out, to, for once, hunt something other than his own kind. Hunger gnawed at him incessantly. "I'm here Guni," he replied, standing from his armchair. He stretched, his long and slender form outlined against the fire for a moment.  


The urban faerie sat on the edge of his desk, watching him carefully, trying to judge his mood. For no particular reason this amused him, and he grinned, fangs showing as his eyes melted into gold. Something stronger than guilt was brewing steadily inside him.  


~~*~~

__

Dear Cain  


I wish to inform you that your Youngling is coming along well. He is the most fun to break and I am enjoying this immensely. There is one thing that troubles me. I do not work for free. What will be you be giving in return for your Child?  


Cyric  


Cyric  


I am delighted to hear my little one is coming along nicely. And of course I would never expect you to work for free. Choose your price and I shall pay it. Shido's return means more to me than I can put into words.  


Cain  


Cain,  


I shall write later with my price, though I should daresay that it is a high price. More news will come when progress had been made.  


Cyric  


Cain was admittedly worried about exactly what price he would have to pay. If it indeed was too costly, he would be extracting it from Shido's hide. His little one had many years of obstinate disregard to make up for, and Cain was enjoying the thought of it.  


~~*~~

Shido, on the other hand, was determined as ever to stay away from his master. The thought of returning never crossed his mind without extreme hatred. He missed somethings but Cain would try to control his every motion again and he wasn't about to stand for that.  


As the Torigoe O-harai-shiki approached Tokyo, the number of murders climbed higher though the human police couldn't catch the murderer(s). Soon, evidence started trickling in, a carved name, always on the chest of the latest victims. They were marred kanji's of the name Shido Tatsuhiko. Now the police were after this elusive personage, and the public feared him.  


"Oh hell," Shido hissed, teeth bared in annoyance at the paper. This was going too far. He was going to have to relocate with the way things were going, and he liked Tokyo. "This is all His fault. I know it is." Shido tossed the paper in the wastebasket across the room, glaring at it until it landed. He missed. Guni was hiding in his bedroom, away from him as he sulked at his desk. She knew not to mess with him recently. He had grown into a foul disposition since his name had stated to appear. Once he had read about it he had holed himself up in his office. That was quite a few days ago. He hadn't left, at all, not even to feed, and he was showing the signs of self-induced depravation again. His floorboards were worn from his pacing in front of the fireplace, and the chess pieces were still in the middle of his latest game.  


The Elder, however, was pleased with his Children's work. Things were going exactly the way he wanted them to. How did it feel that the people he wanted to protect wanted him dead or behind bars? And if they did catch him and find out what he truly was, the Scientists would want him to take apart. A low chuckle permeated the room at the thought. Betrayed by those you protected and then diced for the sake of science and their insatiable curiosity.  


Shido was getting to know exactly how the big cats behind bars in the zoo felt, He paced endlessly, for hour after hour until he was exhausted. He would sleep then, and get up and do the same thing. It was an endless circle, but he couldn't leave his office. Something or someone would recognize him, and god knows what would happen.  


Every now and then he got fed up with human beings in general. He worked tirelessly to protect their weak little lives, and they couldn't even see past the trick Cyric was playing. They would want him dead, or close to it. Observations, studies, tests and labs. Or just plain old-fashioned death. His loyalty was not deserved, he often thought, and upon that he would pace twice as fast, angered and annoyed. They had no right to want him dead, after all he did to protect them!  


Other times he didn't think at all, but moved by habit alone.  


Torigoe O-harai-shiki hit Tokyo in a flurry, the city in a busy clutter. The prayers for safety went up urgently, the kiosks selling charms that would ward off the murderer. Cyric found this obviously funny, hearing about these wards. So they would keep away a vampyre? He had his Children hunt twice as much just to prove they didn't work. The public quelled and stopped the festivities, staying inside.  


Cyric also worked through the net, sending false messages to the terminals of Japan, telling them to forbid anyone that fit Shido's description to board any boat or plane that left the country. He backed them up with generous amounts of money that he knew would turn their heads.   


The festival came, and left Shido annoyed and hungry. The last night of the festivities he was so close to passing out, it felt that he gave in and took down easy prey. A young girl, who wanted nothing more than to help him "find his dog".   


"Generosity got you nothing" he hissed as she breathed in one last breath, bitter and angered by the ridiculous race he had tried to protect, the very one that now turned against him. A charm to ward him, "the murderer" off, was tied to her bag. He could only find this bitterly ironic. He returned to his office, only to leave it two nights later for the docks. He had to find Cyric.  


Cyric was waiting for him under a lamplight, wreathed in black. His red eyes watched the white-capped waves lap against the wooden piers, picking out the trash that littered the tops. As a vampyre he'd come to understand that nature revolved in circles, what affected one part affected the rest. Humans couldn't seem to understand that with their mindless waste and destruction.  


Shido's anger rose at the sight of the white vampire, but he subdued it, quelled it. It would do him no good. He approached quietly, preferring the quiet. Cyric would have heard him had he silenced the world, anyway.  


The silence stretched between them after Shido's approach. The Elder let the breeze play with his hair and clothes, breathing in the scent of salt water and exhaust. "Before these cities, it was beautiful."   


"Nature wasn't scarred by ruins and waste then," Shido acknowledged, speaking softly in the wind. He brushed a long section of his hair that always escaped his ponytail back from his face, but the wind only snatched it and sent it where it pleased.  


A small smirk curled his lips. "Nature was scarred by ruins. I remember them." Shifting his weight, he leaned against the pole, the cold metal biting at his skin through his thin silk shirt.   


"None like now, I assume. Twisted metal charred plastic. I would think your time was purer. But I am the naive one." His voice remained observant, quiet, through the entire course of the conversation He wasn't here to fight, just to know.  


"Egypt was never pure. Hot, burning sands, the rigor social structure of the cities and the dictatorship. They were fools, the whole lot." Where Shido's voice remained quiet and observant, Cyrics' became hard and wistful.  


"Why?" There was a story behind the words, and Shido honestly wanted to hear it. He wasn't worried about Cyric's children at the moment, or the fact that he was a wanted man. He was curious, and burned to know.  


"Why do you want to know?" He turned to face the Youngling, the hard length of the pole running up against his spine.  


Shido shrugged, tilting his head to look at Cyric with his ever-pleasant cerulean eyes. "I am curious."  


Cyric smiled a dangerous smile. "Curiosity can kill."   


"Obviously," he muttered thinking back to there encounter not so long ago. "Are you trying to kill me?"  


"Why would I want to kill you, ragazzo?" The red eyes narrowed. "I only want to break you."  


"You achieve both before you know it," Shido sighed, looking away to the ocean. "I still don't understand why you want to 'break me'. Whatever for? I've never met you in my life."  


"Your Sire asked me to. He's quite adamant about getting you back." Cyric pushed himself off the lamp pole, coming up behind Shido and wrapping his arms around his waist. "But I have no intentions of sending you to him."  


"What? Cain? I won't go!" He had the entire splurge out before Cyric even touched him. He shied away from the touch, but not soon enough. He was tense, and apparently panicked, now. "I won't go back to him. I'll die of starvation first. I swore I wouldn't go back!"  


"Did I say I was going to send you back, Shido?"   


The implication of the words settled into his panicking brain, and soothed him. He sighed in relief. Cain was the last person on earth he wanted to see. "Why not, if he asked you to?" Shido asked, tilting his head upward to try and look at Cyric. He had yet to struggle from the other's grip.  


Red eyes stared into the cerulean of the Younglings, darkening to a blood color. "I have demanded payment for my services and my cost runs high." Leaning down a little, he brushed his lips across the others cheek bones. "You are my payment."  


Shido gaped open mouthed. "Wha-?" That was a first. "But," his eyebrows knit together in confusion as he bit his lower lip. "I don't think I understand." He wasn't helping his stupid and naive reputation any there.  


"You will belong to me after I send my demand to Cain, whether he likes it or not. I've found that I have grown rather fond of you, Youngling." The arms tightened around his waist rather possessively.  


Shido managed to turn himself about in them, so that he could look Cyric in the face and not crane his neck in such an awkward position. "He'll be furious." The thought actually, once Shido considered it, thrilled him. He would love to piss Cain more than anything but through Cyric?  


"Of course he would be. Anyone would be furious at loosing their Child." A glint formed in the eyes of the bleached vampyre. He believed that Cain was wise enough to know when to back off, if he tried to fight him. If not...the world could deal with one less Vampyre.  


Shido looked down from Cyric's blood colored eyes, considering the full meaning of everything that was being said. "Your children..." They wouldn't take to this well at all. Shido remembered what that jealousy was like, when your sire picked another over you. It had been on of the strongest pains he had felt in his extended lifetime... But why did he have to belong to anyone at all? He had left Cain to get out of that position, belonging solely to a vampire stronger than he.  


"My Children have learned to share. As well, you will find me a rather lax Sire; I only demand a few things. When I visit you do not turn me away, you will call me Sire or Master, and you will hunt with me."  


"But, why do I belong to you, now. You didn't make me...." Shido asked plainly, looking up again.   


"Would you rather go back to Cain? By belonging to me, he is kept away and if he does not keep away, you will not be the one dealing with him."   


He didn't want to belong to anybody, but his sole desire for over a hundred years had been to keep away from Cain, to stay away from him.  


"How often do you visit...?" Shido asked quietly, agreeing in his own way.  


"It depends...maybe once a week, maybe once a century." The other fluidly shrugged then smiled secretly.  


"Are you serious?" Shido sounded extremely young with that sentence and inside he winced, but it was an honest question.  


"I am never anything but serious, lovely." He pulled away from the violet-haired vampyre, arms falling to his sides. "Go home, sleep and eat. I have a letter to write." Spinning on his heel, he headed for the business district of Tokyo, choosing not to fade into the shadows this time.  


"And if anybody spots me going home I'm toast," he sighed, wrapping his arms abut himself to replace the steady feeling of Cyric's. However, that would be the last thing he would admit. They had just struck a bargain, a business deal, not sworn to love each other eternally. Shido was convinced vampires were incapable of such an emotion. He hurried back to his office, choosing to travel by rooftops once he neared residential areas. He couldn't afford to be spotted.  


~~*~~

__

Cain,

  
I have finally decided upon the payment as tonight I have broken your Child. It would be wise for you to remind yourself just how powerful I am before you read on. I take as my payment 1 Shido Tatsuhiko. The Youngling belongs to me from this day forward, marked on July 15, 2003. If you wish to repute me, then you are welcome to come and try.  


Cyric

~~*~~

  
No return letter ever arrived. Cain, apparently, could not even bring himself to write one. World news carried a tale of a devastating number of murders in Transylvannia, beginning in the small towns and spreading. One vampire was mourning by killing, apparently. Just the thing to drive Shido insane, but Shido wasn't reading world news lately. He had his eye on the local paper, waiting till it was safe to return to his normal station in society. He did not want to be captured and dissected.  


Cyric did as good a job cleaning up the mess as he did creating it. One of his Children were caught on purpose and arrested. Shortly after arrest the Child 'died' of a heart attack and was buried on Tokyo property. Little did the police know that they had been tricked.  


The first night Shido could safely leave his apartment, he felt like he could dance down the street. It felt wonderful to be out of his office. He had always liked it, but those walls got dull after weeks and weeks. Teenagers had taken over the cafe he had been at nearly a month ago, and they had music out with them. He laughed lightly, and once in the alley around the corner, let himself move to it. It was a very happy sounding pop song, something new and resh. It helped his mood tremendously. He was able to spin to it, and modify a waltz with a few more springing steps.  


He was too happy about being outside.   


Cyric and his Children reverted to the blood they had stocked during the murder spree till it all settled down. Most of his Children separated and returned to their own hunting grounds, the three Yearlings staying behind to learn the ropes from their Sire before striking out on their own. Cyric watched Shido closely on the first few days of his new freedom, just to make sure the public didn't suspect his name. The bans on the ships and planes were lifted but the money was sent anyway as a thank you.  


Shido was infinitely relieved when his first week passed without an arrest, or a recognition. Perhaps the entire thing would blow over after all. He relaxed a little, not feeling any particular need but freedom. At the end of that week he found himself missing his office, and instead of running out at night to do nothing but walk the streets observing the people who would have hung him from he gallows had they been given the chance, he played chess with himself. Guni was asleep in his desk again; otherwise he would have asked her to play. They had patched things up after his return from the docks. Everything was quite calm. And dull. Life continued on with only one drastic change, he wasn't allowed t hunt down other vampires anymore. This left him with a lot more free time, and nothing to fill it with. He needed a hobby.  



	5. Blood and Velvet

Black Widow Note: Hello~! I'm so glad that you've liked this story and have been kind enough to give us reviews! If you're wondering, this isn't the end of Cyric and Shido's story. We still have two more Arcs to go through before The Crimson Arc is complete! ^_^ We hope you review those too, I promise they'll be exciting. For those loyal reviewers, Sayori and I are making a smutty fic, but we need suggestions. Please drop a few! Please!

****

The Crimson Tide  
Chapter 4 – Velvet and Blood  
By Sayori and Black Widow

The door to his office opened, the bleached vampyre walking in. He wore his normal red clothes with the heavy velvet robe and in one hand he carried a decanter of blood. "Bored, petling?" Closing the door behind him, he set the crystal decanter on the desk with a smile.  


Guni was the first to stir as she heard the door open. After discussing this Vampire with Shido, she knew better than to snap off at the mouth like she always did. Drawing her wings about herself, she remained silent and watched the display between the two.  


At the sound of the voice that was steadily growing so very familiar, Shido dropped the pawn he had in his loose grip and looked up with his bright eyes.  


"You..." It was neither shock nor outrage, simply awareness in an exclamation.  


"Yes, 'you'." He produced a goblet from his robe, putting it down beside the container. "I brought you substance." One pale hand gestured to the desk and he perched on the edge.  


He hadn't brought it in a living organism... it was in dead, unmoving glass, or crystal rather, from the angles and the internal shine. This was rather unexpected...  


"Why?" Shido asked, standing and pushing his chair back away from him. He stayed between it and the wooden chess stand one hand on the arm of the old chair and the other on the edge of the board.  


"Because I wanted to." One eyebrow was raised. "Are you refusing my offer?"  


"Uhn uhn," Shido answered softly, shaking his head. His lavender colored bangs hid his eyes after that quick motion, even when he approached the desk. His senses were on high alert. He was nervous, though he had no reason to be. Guni could feel it, and she drew further into the minute protection of her glossy wings.  


Cyric watched him, his posture relaxed. He was after all, Shido's protector; he wasn't going to poison him. Just make sure that he kept himself fit.  


His hands shook when he filled the glass. "Are you going to watch?" his voice hesitated at the last word, it coming out softer and slower then the others. He was embarrassed, and it was obvious.   


"Watch you drink? Or appreciate you?"  


"Neh?" Shido turned to look at the vampire he had struck such a reckless bargain with. He held the half-filled glass in both hands, his mouth open a bit in surprise.   


Cyric smirked. "Feed, lovely. Don't stand there with your mouth open." He reached out and pushed his jaw up, closing his mouth.  


Shido hid behind the sections of hair that never stayed in his orderly ponytail, trying to keep the blush from the other vampire's view. He smelled the contents of the glass first, and shuddered. There was no guilt in glass or crystal. Tilting the cup up slightly, he tasted the red fluid. The sheer pleasure of it made him shudder again. Drawing in a panting breath, he lowered the goblet, then tilted it up again. Heaven was his only thought. He was always a sucker for cliches.  


A slow smile curled the elder vampyres lips. Not only was that blood human blood, a mothers blood as well, but it was mixed with his own blood. He wanted to purge Shido's system of Cain's blood. The violet-haired vampyre oozed the smell of that other one, and it disgusted him. It was a foul smell.  


When the glass was empty Shido set it back down on the desk, not noticing Guni staring up at him with wide disbelieving eyes. Gold had overtaken his tropical-hued eyes completely and a smear of red decorated his bottom lip like cake frosting.  


"What was that... who?" His voice was very soft, incredibly so.  


"If I told you, you'd start putting a name on every bottle I would bring you."  


Shido blinked twice, nodded, looked down at the ground. He felt odd, suddenly lightheaded. His skin tingled, especially his fingertips. He was so distracted he let the room go silent as he stared at the floor, trying to get a hold of himself. He felt as though he was shaking, but he obviously wasn't moving at all.  


A hand rested in the small of his back, urging him to sit down. Red eyes watched the Youngling intensely, gauging his mental and physical reactions to the new blood.

  
Finally he convinced his eyes to close. He had to rest his head upon his hands; it was suddenly too heavy to support on his own. He shuddered again. Internally his body and its old blood fought the new. He Shuddered again, and flushed from a sudden, burning heat. It hurt worse than he would have thought a simple feeding ever would. He felt as though he were being torn apart, literally. His head hurt terribly and just as he thought he might boil, his skin cooled to the temperature of ice. A dull ache thudded rhythmically in his brain, but not as painful as it had been a few seconds ago. He shivered slightly, opening his eyes and raising his head to focus on the things before him.  


"Are you feeling better?" A pounding started in the Elders temples, the pain transferring over the link. It didn't hurt him as badly as it hurt his Youngling. He had shields, Shido didn't. "You need shields."  


"Ne? The drained vampire muttered, looking up at the Elder. He had denied every instinct and progression his life as a Nightwalker had brought him. He knew nothing, and it was beginning to become painfully obvious. Guni had disappeared; he could no longer see her. She had probably scampered away to his bedroom. It was the only room not visible from the office. He had specifically selected this place due to the fact that half of it was an office, and the other half was divided into two separate sections by a door and its wall. Three rooms, no bathroom. He didn't exactly need one, after all.  


Cyric sighed, pulling his Youngling into his lap. "I will be teaching you how to shield."  


Still at a loss as to what had happened and slightly dazed Shido didn't fight back, but laid his head against Cyric's shoulder and waited for the pounding to go away.  


"I know nothing," the dazed vampire sighed into the other's neck. With his eyes closed, he had no idea how close he really was.  


A little tendril ran down the Elders spine, making his thigh muscles jump. Every sense became hyper aware of the vampyre in his lap. His eyes traced over the high profiles of his face, framed by the lavender hair. Shido was a beautiful man, too beautiful, too distracting. Damnit!  


Turning his mind elsewhere, he reached down the link between his Youngling and himself. He erected shields around his mind, making sure that they would stay when he left. One hand poured another goblet of blood, putting it in Shido's hand. This time the pain would be less, and the blood more nourishing.  


Shido cracked an eye open, eyed the glass then lifted his head from Cyric's shoulder to look at him. He didn't even have to say anything, his face told his concern.  
". . . . .?!!"  


"It won't hurt this time."   


He looked at the cup suspiciously, not quote believing the elder. After that, he found the words hard to believe easily. I should consider myself lucky, he thought as he reminded himself that the glassware was hardly going to be in pain when he drank from it. I don't have to kill anyone this way, and no one will hate me with all of their last dying breath. Lucky me, lucky humanity.  


His love for humanity was dwindling ever so slowly. They had wanted him hanged from the gallows, if at all possible. Had hunted! Had worn patches of paper to ward him off! Of all the absurdity.. he had fought for them, and they had never known. He hadn't done it for the glory- of course not!- but it had been a smiting blow to him, nonetheless.  


Drinking what was offered to him, he stiffened himself against the less-than-pleasant sensations he suspected would follow.  


Cyric threw his shields behind the ones he built for Shido, blocking the sensations and channeling them to himself. He handled them better then Shido had, not allowing the pain to show in his body. Three more nights of feeding on his blood, Shido would be his.  


Shido sighed, brushing his fingertips across his lips. The dark smear across them interested him when he pulled them away. This was very thick, and dark. Something was very odd about this blood..  


The bleached vampyre remained quiet, one arm sneaking around the others waist to pull him closer. He pulled himself out of Shido's mind, a odd echo rebounding his mind from Shido's last thoughts. He didn't care if Shido found out or not, it would save time if he did.  


Giving into an odd impulse, one that had no founding and no explanation, Shido brought his fingers up to his face and breathed in the scent of blood deeply. Stiffening suddenly, he repeated the action. He jerked around slightly and stared at Cyric. He had only just caught on..  


"You're the darkness.. your smell is in the blood. I didn't realize it before.." He muttered his last sentence, glaring from the darkly stained pads of his fingers, the up at the other. He hated being tricked. Cain always tricked him into taking his blood, though in much less innocent of ways.  


"I didn't trick you, pet. You never asked." He slid off the desk, red eyes boring into gold. "This is your first lesson under me. Ask before you feed."  


A scowl marring his pretty face, Shido was quiet. His hands were fisted at his sides, and the languid, easy grace that infected his motions unbeknownst to him had completely faded as he body took on rigidity.  


Slender fingers clasped the others chin, thumb stroking the soft skin. "I am teaching you a valuable lesson, lovely, if you take the job I will be offering you."  


"What job?" Shido asked through gritted teeth. He was flushed again, and was fighting himself to bring it away. He would not acknowledge it, if it stayed or left.  


"A treasure hunting job." The skin around the red eyes crinkled as he smiled. "You are bored, ragazzo, and this job would entertain you. You would be fighting other Vampyres."  


"But.. but why? You were so adamantly against that," the violet-hued Youngling said, obviously puzzled. His brows knit together and those lovely golden cat eyes faded to their normal shades of aquamarine and turquoise.  


"For useless killing, yes. These vampyres would be in your way." He brushed his lips over the others, blowing on them. "So you are perfectly within rights to kill them."  


Freezing at the simple physical contact, his eyes grew twice their normal size, and his blush darkened to a shade twice as deep. He immediately opened his mouth to say something, anything.  


Seizing the chance and knowing he was probably going to regret it later, he sealed his lips over the others. Dipping his tongue into the warm pit, he tasted his blood, the woman's blood, and the taste he quickly catalogued with Shido. Pure, sweet innocence, and cinnamon.  


Startled the younger vampire gasped slightly. Dazed again- so often this was happening in Cyric's presence-, he fisted his slender hands in the velvet at Cyric's shoulder. He was seeking a handhold as the room spun, or at least that's what he felt sure it was doing. Gravity, what was gravity?  


As quickly as he had kissed him, he withdrew. He took a step back, not bothering to remove the others hands from his robe. He wasn't -for the first time in a long time- sure he should have done that.  


Shido withdrew his hands hastily, dropping his suddenly unfocused eyes to the ground. He pressed his cold fingertips against his warm lips and shuddered slightly, nearly invisibly.  
You knew this might be a part of the deal, his mind hissed at him, anger in the tone. It was directed only at him, not knowing then Cyric had made his link.  


"I.." Words failed him miserably, and he fought to make a sentence. "This is part of our deal?"  


"No." Cyric shook his head. "That wasn't part of our deal."  


Looking back up in confusion, every working sense having taken a hiatus right then, and admitted once again, "I don't understand."  


Now...this was awkward. Searching for an explanation he opted for the truth. "I wanted to. You were too much of a temptation." He let his hand cup the mans cheek.  


Shido stood absolutely still for a long moment. It looked as though he might wither as an aging flower would, but he did something he would blush furiously about later. Pressing his hand against Cyric's, he nuzzled it. The purr came without him thinking about it. He realized the delicate sound was his own after the fact, and blushed again. He was prone to that.  


Cyric smiled, fingertips rubbing against the soft skin. "You are very much a temptation, my little nymph."  


Having made his boldest move, Shido didn't move again, only nodded as he stroked the flesh beneath his hand with his fingers rhythmically. His eyes had deepened to a shade of cobalt that was quite fetching in the low light. The fire threw orange slices against the blue to offer a strange but interesting contrast.  


This was Cain's fascination, innocence, strength and beauty all in one. A very tidy package indeed.  


And Cyric was beginning to find out just why Cain wanted him back so badly. The violet-haired bishounen was intoxicating like this. Carefully, he laid his lips on the other.  


Shido leaned up into the kiss and parted his lips at the easy pressure. There was not thought behind his gestures, only a need he hadn't felt for many years.. not since Cain had last appeared and claimed him. The need blotted out his thoughts 

The older vampyre pulled the other closer, wrapping his arms around his waist possessively. He feasted on the others lips, a desire building in the pit of his stomach that burned hot. He wanted this Youngling, had wanted him since he saw him.  


Not as naive in some areas as others, the violet-haired vampire swept their tongues into a half-frenzied dance. Another purr emitted from him as he put a hand into the other's hair to cup the back of his neck. The fingers he kept there never laid still, but rather moved in unpredictable patterns.  


The heat in his stomach grew more and more intense with every brush of those fingers. Cyric may be a Ancient but he was still subject to the normal feelings and bodily reactions of his immortal body. And that body wanted Shido. NOW.   


Pulling away only enough to talk at Cyric and not into his mouth, Shido found the breath required to speak, though it came in slightly panting intervals. "Will you be staying..?" The same flush that crept over him everytime had stolen the cream coloring from his cheeks. His fingers had yet to stop, and the other hand was resting on Cyric's red sleeve.  


"Yes, ragazzo." Cyrics voice had dropped to a husky, sultry tone. One of his hands snuck under the others shirt, mirroring the patterns of Shido's hands. Soft skin..  


Shido shuddered and his eyes closed to thin slits. Had he the mind to he probably would have made some sort of noise, but at the moment he couldn't think very clearly. The grip on Cyric's sleeve tightened.  


He had to fight to find his voice this time. "There's a room for this, around the corner." The office didn't seem to be a very fitting place for such.. activities, in his mind. He did have to work there occasionally, after all.  


The Elder bent down and nibbled on the Younglings earlobe. "That would be lovely..." He breathed into the others ear.   


He nodded minutely, but hesitated to move. "This way," he muttered, finally backing out of Cyric's arms and gesturing towards the room with the fireplace. Walking ahead a few steps, he brushed some of his hair away from his face. He could feel himself blushing, and lowered his head slightly to hide it. What was a natural reaction for him, he hated.  


Cyric loved it and he smiled. Shido was beautiful when blushing, the red strokes brought out the color of his eyes and skin in a tantalizing way. He kept a hand on the others waist as he followed him, feeling the muscles flexing under his hand.  


The chessboard before the fireplace barely got a second look as he passed the thing. At the back wall there was a door partially open. Shido could have sworn he had closed it, but was not very sure. He often forgot to close the door. He hesitated again, but pushed it open. Laying his hand over the one on his waist, he led the other in.  


He hadn't realized how much plum and royal purple was in his room until he looked at it now. There as one old painting hung near the door, and that besides the wooden bed frame, was the only things not one of those shades. He had gotten rid of many of his possessions. All that was in the room was the painting and a bed. Granted a large one. No coffin for him. Cain had forced him into one far too often for him to comfortably tolerate them anymore. He swallowed nervously. Things didn't look too bad in here. He hoped.  


One brow was raised as the Elder looked around. "Purple, loveling?" Well, he shouldn't complain, his own bedroom back in Cairo was all shades of red but with more wood tones then Shido's room. He was already unconsciously picking out the spare pieces of furniture that he had at home that would look very nice in this room. It was a habit for him, ever since he had become fond of interior decoration.  


His free hand unconsciously sought out and grasped the end of his ponytail. "I'm overly fond of the color."  


"I wasn't complaining, Mon chere." The bleached vampyre chuckled, rubbing his thumb against Shido's hip.   


"oh.." He looked over into the blood colored eyes and smiled slightly. "I'm glad."  


"Now..." The vampyre's lean body pressed up behind Shido's, a warm breath caressing his neck. "Are we going to continue standing here?"  


Shido leaned back, shuddering ever so slightly once again. He shook his head when he couldn't find his voice. Turning about quickly, he brushed his lips across Cyrics only to pull them away abruptly.   


A slight frown creased the thin lips of the Vampyre at that action. Was Shido teasing now? He persued, not to be denied that kiss.  


The faint blush dusted so delicately across his cheeks darkened five or six shades as Shido froze his motions entirely. "Oh...shit..." He looked mortified. Something stirred behind the elder, whatever it was fell to the floor. Shido leapt away and dove for the thing. It was his little urban faerie. The creature had fainted.  


Cyric stood there for a minute, confused until he saw the faerie. He threw back his head and laughed, a happier sound then what Shido was used to. That was very funny, so the little thing had been watching? Oh poor her.   


Talking quietly to the creature, he took her out of his room. He returned shortly, blushing still and looking very embarrassed. "I ..uh.. am sorry about that. I didn't know she was in here.." That's why his door had been open; Guni had hidden there to avoid Cyric. Much good it did her obviously.  


The laughter subsided to quiet giggles and he waved away the apology. "It's alright, lovely." He smiled, eyes glittering with amusement.   


The younger vampire sighed, still blushing. "I think she's going to be okay in a little while. It was the fall that stunned her.."  


"That's good to hear." The Elder sat down on the edge of the bed. White hands smoothed out the wrinkles in his robes as his red eyes stayed on Shido.  


He fidgeted with the end of his ponytail, staring at his hands for a second. He had never been so embarrassed, and poor Guni...  


He could feel the pair of eyes on him. Looking up he smiled slightly. That need still blotted the edges of his consciousness, spurring him forward as though he was a stubborn ride. Where he got the courage to straddle Cyric's lap when he reached the other vampire he had no idea. He was minutely irritated to feel that heat in his face that could only be his blush again, but ignored it and concentrated on what he was trying to accomplish.  


~~*~~

  
The sheets cacooned the vampyres body, holding him trapped in the web. His fingers danced through the tangled white and violet hair, working the strands out of the mess. He had gladly given Shido what he wanted and then some. Making love was something he rarely did, though he preferred it over the other artforms of sex out there.   


Hazy eyes watched the nimble fingers work through the series of tangles in both colors of hair. The sated vampire was quite content to let his elder do whatever he wanted at this point. Abstinence did not suit anyone very well. There had been nothing after Cain. After such a drought he was pleased to feel true pleasure again. As pleasant as visiting an old friend.  


The tangles were getting on his nerves, and he bared his teeth in frustration. He had to remember to braid his hair when he did this again. The bleached vampyre did not look good with short hair.  


"Here.." He had experience with this. As the owner responsible for the violet portion of the chaos, he felt he should help. His slender fingers easily picked out a few of the knots.   


"Mm...maybe if you hadn't been thrashing so much, we wouldn't be in this position." The tone of his voice was light and teasing, with a small smile curling his lips.  


Working one of the last knots out, he looked at Cyric reproachfully, or at least tried to. "If you hadn't been so adamant about making me scream you wouldn't have had that thrashing problem," A smile curved his lips prettily.  


He had to laugh at that. "You sounded so pretty screaming."  


He worked the last one free and smirked a bit. "All those years of practice." He slid his fingers like a brush through his hair to work the tangles out, repeating the action a few times.  


Cyric quickly braided his hair, piling it on top of his head in a way that didn't need pins. "I believe you."  


Yawning, the young vampire let his hair lay where it fell. It rarely tangled, and when he slept he always wore it down. He settled back into his pillows once more, but looked over at his companion suddenly. He had a question, and it had been bothering him for quite a while.  
"How many ....children do you have?" Something told him the number was much more than the eight he had seen.  


"213." Came the instant reply. Cyric wasn't afraid of Shido's reaction, he'd dealt with it before with his other Children.  


"And how old are you?" He turned slightly on his side to look at the other inquisitively. He didn't seem upset.  


"How old do you think I am?"  


"Very." He smiled when he said it, trying to lighten the conversation somewhat.  


Cyric arched a brow. "I am 5,908 years old, Shido."  


"And yet you've held up amazing well." The sentence came after a slight pause. The initial shock had to wear away first.  


He smiled and kissed him. "It's part of being a Vampyre. One day you'll be as old as me."  


A soft purr came from that little gesture. "Everything will be mechanical then, if the human race survives itself that long." Shido yawned again.   


"They will, they're too stubborn."  


Shido let a pause drag out for quite awhile. When he spoke again he sounded half-asleep. "Will you be here when I wake? Or will you be gone with dusk?" It would be perfectly acceptable if he left, but Shido wanted to know to avoid surprises. Oops, he forgot, and had been forgetting since the rule was spoke, something. "Master."  


"I will be here." Cyric wrapped his arms around the other, snuggling with him.  


Smiling a little, Shido settled into the embrace. If business deals between his kind were this pleasurable, he would have to make them more often. This wasn't what he had expected when he had agreed to "belong" to Cyric. He drifted into the numb darkness of sleep with that thought.  



End file.
